Bigger than a rhino
by ACOUNTCLOSED
Summary: It all starts when a boy finds a flickering light in the forest and is forced to run through. An old friend returns and then Abby is left with a difficult decision. Includes Stabby and Conby.
1. The flickering light

A fourteen year old boy was trampling through a forest, he knew where he was heading… the one place he could be himself. He finally reached the tree he was looking for and pulled himself up onto the first branch which was only a foot off the ground. It didn't take him long to get near ten metres off the ground. He was just about to get up onto the next branch when there was a loud growling sound. The boy jumped and lost his footing leaving just two hands on the branch above saving him from plummeting to the ground. He tried to reach another branch with his feet but he couldn't find one. Suddenly there was a loud crash at the bottom of the tree and the tree started to sway to the left sending the boy crashing against the bark. He grunted before starting to panic when he started to slip. There was another growl and the boy looked down to see a rhino type creature but the boy knew it wasn't a rhino as rhino's could never get that big. Its teeth were massive and the boy started to get scared when the creature started to charge at the tree again. It was getting closer and closer by the second. He needed to do something. The boy scanned the forest below for a plan and frowned when he saw flickering silver light. But before he could do anything the creature hit the tree. The hit was powerful and the tree began to fall.

The tree hit the ground and the impact made the boy hit his head against the tree. He grunted before holding his hand to his head. The creature towered above him and the boy scampered backwards, turned on his front and hurried to his feet. He ran but the creature followed. It wasn't about to give up that easily. There was only one thing for it and without thinking, the boy ran through the silver light, disappearing from the forest. Then the forest was quiet. The creature had turned and ran off in a different direction and the flickering silver light stayed shinning peacefully as if it was waiting for something else to happen.

**I know it's short but this is just the beginning. The next chapter will be up soon. **


	2. The Forest of Dean

**I've decided this is to be set in series 3 once Danny has joined the team.**

Danny and Becker were talking about guns that would be useful against different creatures while Sarah and Abby were talking about girl things and Connor was eating. Suddenly the anomaly detector went off. Connor sighed before leaving his sandwich and running off to the detector. He sat down before hitting the keyboard furiously as the rest of the team ran up to meet him. "Where is it?" Danny asked.

"Give me a chance," Connor snapped. "The detector's playing up!"

"Excuses, excuses," Becker muttered.

"Got it!" Connor exclaimed. "No."

"What now?" Abby asked. Connor turned around.

"It's in the Forest of Dean," Connor answered.

"Let's go then," Danny shrugged. He turned and walked towards the cars, with Becker following behind him. Connor and Abby glanced at each other before following. Connor grabbed his sandwich as he passed.

It didn't take long for the team to reach the forest and Connor and Abby immediately went to check the old anomaly sight. Becker and Danny glanced at each other before running after the pair, slightly unsure where they were going.

By the time Becker and Danny caught up with Abby and Connor, the pair of them was standing in front of an anomaly. "It's in the same place," Connor breathed cautiously as if he was scared of something there. Danny moved to stand next to Connor and looked at the anomaly.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked.

"This is where the first anomaly appeared when Stephen and Cutter were still here," Connor whispered quietly. "It opened in this exact spot. A Gorgonopsid came through… and Rex. Cutter went through and when he came back he said someone had disappeared. And…" At that moment Connor was interrupted by Danny's phone ringing. Danny pulled the phone out of his pocket and glanced down at it.

"It's Sarah," Danny said as he answered the phone and put it onto speaker. "Sarah."

"Danny," Sarah said down the phone. "We've had reports of a boy going into the Forest of Dean five hours ago. He hasn't come back yet."

"Do you have a name?" Danny asked.

"Ben Trent," Sarah replied. Connor immediately turned to Abby.

"Ben," Abby gasped.

Meanwhile, inside the anomaly, Ben was sat on one of the rocks. His head was throbbing from when he whacked it against the tree and it felt like he had done something to his leg. He was glad the Gorgonopsid hadn't followed him through but the flickering light was surrounded by even more Gorgonopsids so at the moment, Ben had no chance on getting back through. He was hoping the Abby would come through and find him with her friends. If she was even actually helping stop the dinosaurs and the silver light things. It had been a two years since the previous Gorgonopsid event, when the Gorgonopsid had trashed his room and when Rex was sent back through the flickering light. Maybe he'd be able to find Rex again. But at the moment, he had no interest on what happened two years ago or about Rex. He just wanted to go home and at the moment it looked pretty impossible.

Back in the Forest of Dean, Danny was questioning Abby and Connor. "So you met this Ben last time the anomaly was open here." Connor and Abby nodded.

"He had found Rex and was showing me where he found him," Abby shrugged. "Why?"

"Was he interested in dinosaurs or anything related to that?" Danny asked, ignoring Abby's question.

"Yes!" Abby remembered. "He thought they were cool."

"Would he go through an anomaly?" Danny questioned. This time it was Connor's turn to answer.

"Didn't he tell Cutter something about seeing the past?" Connor turned to Abby who verified this.

"So he's not afraid to go through?" Danny asked.

"He might go through," Abby shrugged. "I don't really know."

"We should check through the anomaly," Becker suggested. "He could be injured. Sarah said his mother said something about him climbing trees. Maybe he climbed the one that has fallen over, it fell over he injured himself. Creature comes along. Runs into anomaly. Stays and waits to recover. Or something like that."

"It's worth a look," Danny shrugged. "Myself and Becker will go. We'll be back in one hour." Danny beckoned Becker over so they were standing facing the anomaly.

"And if you're not back?" Connor asked.

"Don't come through," Danny replied as he stepped through. Becker followed him through.

Ben was still sat on the rocks and was beginning to get fed up. He'd been sitting on the rocks for ages and it looked like there was no rescue coming. Ben decided to start making his way closer to the anomaly. He stood up but collapsed as pain shot through his leg. He was about to yell in pain when a hand covered his mouth. "Don't… make… a… sound," the voice hissed harshly. "Ok?" Ben nodded quickly and the man pulled his hand away. Ben was just about to turn around to face the man when a Gorgonopsid saw him and started charging to attack. That was the last thing Ben could remember as the next moment he woke up inside a cave.

The man who had rescued him was standing above him but Ben couldn't see him properly because the cave was dark. "You're leg's fine just badly bruised and your head's fine."

"Who are you?" Ben asked.

"Later," the man replied quickly. "You need rest. We can go home in the morning."

"But when did you come through?" Ben asked.

"I came through a different anomaly," the man explained briefly. "Now get some rest."

In the Forest of Dean, Danny and Becker had returned. "There's no sign of him," Danny told Connor and Abby. "We'll stay here tonight and see if anything happens."

"Should I lock the anomaly?" Connor asked.

"No," Danny shook his head.

"Why?" Abby frowned.

"I have a feeling the anomaly needs to stay open," Danny shrugged. "I'll take first watch. You three go and get some rest."

**There we go then! Thanks for reading and please review.**


	3. Mystery Man

**So many of you have guessed who you think the person helping Ben is however none of you have got it right! But you'll find out in this chapter!**

"Wake up," the man whispered. Ben woke up and opened his eyes. It was still dark so he still couldn't see the man but he knew he was close as he could hear the man breathing. However it felt like something was wrong, as he couldn't hear any noise outside the cave. "You're Ben, aren't you?" Ben nodded.

"How do you know?" Ben asked, feeling slightly nervous.

"Later," the man growled.

"You're very secretive, aren't you?" Ben muttered.

"I can still hear you," the man told Ben. "Now let's get moving." Ben stood up but winced when he put weight on his leg. "Are you ok or do you need carrying?"

"I'll be fine. I'm not baggage," Ben replied making the man laugh. "What?"

"Nothing," the man chuckled. "I've just heard that before."

"The baggage thing?" Ben frowned.

"Yep, a while ago but I can still remember it," the man explained. "Now. Come on!" Ben sighed and started to follow the mystery man, still slightly unsure whether he could trust the man. However at the moment it felt like he could trust the mysterious figure.

**()**

On the other side of the anomaly, it was early in the morning. The sun was up but the trees were stopping the sunlight from getting through. The ground was still wet from the rain last night but fortunately, for the team, the rain hadn't been that heavy. Connor was eating some toast, Abby was looking fed up, Danny was pacing round near the anomaly and Becker was examining his guns. Connor finished eating his toast and stood up. He glanced around the forest and stretched his legs before going to sit next to Abby. Something about the forest made him feel confident. "Umm, Abby. There's something I've been meaning to tell you," Connor hesitated.

"Go on then," Abby said, not even bothering to look at Connor, her gaze remained fixed on the anomaly.

"I lo…" At that moment, Connor was cut off by Becker's shout and was left with his mouth open in the middle of his sentence.

"Something's coming through," Becker yelled. Danny ran over to Becker and Abby jumped to her feet to move closer to the anomaly, leaving Connor alone in the middle of a sentence. All confidence he had had a minute ago had vanished into thin air.

"Typical," Connor muttered. He stared at the floor and sighed, why did nothing ever go right for him?

"Stephen!" Abby's scream of delight made Connor jump and when he glanced up, he saw Abby hugging a man but couldn't see the man enough to know for sure if it was Stephen. But Connor knew that Abby had always fancied Stephen and, if he was back, there was no chance Connor would be able to tell Abby his feelings.

When Abby finally moved away, Connor managed to see for himself who this man was. And sure enough, it was Stephen. Even though he knew he should be happy that Stephen was back, he felt his heart sink. "We thought you were dead," Abby exclaimed. "How are you here?"

"I'll explain later," Stephen smiled. "But at the moment, we'd better get Ben home." Stephen glanced around at the team, searching for his old friend, and his smile faded. "Where's Cutter?" There was quite a long and awkward silence; even the birds seemed to be quieter, before everyone turned to look at Connor.

"Helen shot him," Connor muttered as he returned to looked down at the ground, he could still remember running back into the burning ARC and finding Cutter sitting alone, dying. There was another long silence before Danny finally spoke, freeing Connor from old memories.

"Connor and Abby, you two stay here and lock the anomaly," Danny ordered after deciding it would be best to change the subject from Cutter. "Myself, Becker and Stephen will take Ben home." The four people left leaving Connor and Abby sitting in the damp clearing, alone with the anomaly. Without looking or speaking to Abby, Connor stood up and decided it was best to shut the anomaly so no other creatures, or people (who had the chance of making him lose even more confidence), could come through. He pulled the anomaly locking system out of its box and started to set it up.

"So, Connor, what were you saying earlier?" Abby asked.

"When?" Connor frowned as he twiddled with the locking system.

"You said you had something you'd been meaning to tell me," Abby explained.

"Oh, that was nothing," Connor replied as he locked the anomaly. He wished he could finish the sentence from earlier but the fact that Stephen was back stopped him. "There. All sorted. Nothing will be coming through there." Connor looked up at the anomaly, smiling happily to himself.

"Connor, we may want to open it," Abby said slowly.

"Why?" Connor asked as he turned around. "Oh, that's why."

**()**

Danny, Becker, Stephen and Ben were stood outside Ben's house. They walked up to the front door and Danny knocked on the door of Ben's house and waited. "She's going to kill me," Ben groaned.

"We'll explain what happened," Stephen told Ben.

"The last time you did that, Abby said we had got a bit excited," Ben snapped as the door opened and Mary Trent stood in the doorway.

"There you are Ben," Mary said. "Where on earth have you been?"

"I went back in time and saw the dinosaurs again," Ben answered before Danny, Becker or Stephen could say anything.

"Ben, I thought we had sorted this out. You're fourteen now, dinosaurs aren't real," Mary snapped.

"But I saw them. They are real," Ben yelled before storming into the house. "I went back to their time."

"Don't tell me he saw that Abby person again," Mary sighed.

"Not really," Danny said. "We believe he was climbing a tree. The tree fell and he hit his head. We found him unconscious at the bottom of the tree. We're spry about any trouble this may cause."

"No, it's not your felt the tree fell," Mary said. "Thank you for bringing him back."

**()**

Connor and Abby were stood facing what looked like a very angry Gorgonopsid. "Open the anomaly Connor!"

"I'm going, I'm going," Connor muttered and he backed away towards the locking system. Keeping his eyes on the Gorgonopsid, Connor managed to open the anomaly. The Gorgonopsid didn't look like it was going to move.

"Go and stand in front of the anomaly," Abby ordered.

"What," Connor exclaimed. "No, there's no way I'm going to be bait. I'm always the bait. I'm not doing it. Why don't you be the bait for once? Then you'll see what it's like to be bait."

"You look tastier than me," Abby murmured. "Just stop moaning and do it."

"Fine," Connor grumbled as he went to stand in front of the anomaly he looked at the Gorgonopsid which still didn't want to move. "Come and get the tasty food! Tasty Gorgonopsid food."

"Connor, it can't understand you," Abby hissed.

"Well this isn't working then," Connor yelled. Suddenly the Gorgonopsid charged. By the time Connor saw it coming there was no time for him to react.

**()**

"We'll be leaving now then," Danny told Mary. The three turned and started to walk off.

"Wait!" Ben had ran down the stairs and was now standing in the doorway. Stephen turned round. "Thanks for helping me today." Danny's phone started to ring. He put the phone onto speaker before saying anything.

"Abby?" Danny asked.

"You've got to come, quick!" Abby wailed.

"Abby, listen to me," Stephen said. "What's happened?"

"Connor's been attacked by a Gorgonopsid. He's badly injured and it's all my fault," Abby cried.

"Abby, listen, you need to relax. I know it's hard but whatever happened wasn't all your fault," Stephen said calmly. "Now just relax and I'll be with you as soon as possible." Stephen turned and ran. Ben looked up at his mum with a smile on his face.

"See, a Gorgonopsid," Ben smiled. "I was telling the truth."

"This is nothing to smile about Ben," Mary snapped. "A man is injured." Ben turned to Danny.

"Can I come?" he asked. "I can help."

"No Ben, it's too dangerous," Mary said. "Leave it to the experts."

"It's not fair," Ben yelled as he ran up to his room.

"We really have to go now," Danny told Mary. "But we will need to talk to Ben tomorrow, if you don't mind."

"Just go and help your friends," Mary said before shutting the door.

**Wow. That ended up longer than I expected it to.**


	4. Abby's choice

**This may be a boring chapter if you're into action as it's the romance side of the story.**

Connor groaned as he opened his eyes but immediately snapped them shut again. The bright sunlight dazzled him. He had no clue what had just happened but he could guess he'd just been attacked by the Gorgonopsid. Pain was shooting through his leg and he was fighting with himself just so he wouldn't scream in agony. "Connor. Stay still, you're badly injured. Stephen's on his way," Connor heard Abby's voice and opened his eyes. This time he opened them slowly so his eyes could adjust to the sunlight. He had to turn his head to look at Abby which made him yell out.

"You've been crying," Connor smiled weakly.

"Don't talk," Abby murmured. "Stephen's on his way with a medic."

"Stephen," Connor spat.

"What about Stephen?" Abby frowned.

"You love him," Connor growled, trying his best to ignore the pain in his leg.

"Maybe I do but that's got nothing to do with you," Abby snapped. Pain burned in Connor's eyes but this pain wasn't for his leg, this pain was from his heart.

"You don't understand," Connor spluttered.

"I understand enough. You've never liked Stephen," Abby said and glanced away from Connor.

"No, I-I lo-," Connor closed his eyes as he drifted back into unconsciousness. At that moment, Stephen pulled up in his car and Abby burst into more tears. Stephen leapt out of his car and ran over to Abby who continued crying onto his shoulder.

"I don't know what to do," Abby cried.

"Look Abby, right now we need to get Connor to a hospital ok?" Stephen whispered softly.

"You'll stay with me, won't you?" Abby asked quickly.

"Of course," Stephen nodded. "Now come on. Get up. The ambulance should be here soon."

"Do you think he'll be ok?" Abby asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm not a doctor," Stephen replied as the ambulance pulled up. "And by the way Abby, he fell out of a tree." Abby nodded before going to talk to the paramedics. Stephen watched her go and sighed. While trapped in the anomalies he had had time to think. He'd often thought about Abby and decided if he ever got back he'd step back and let Connor in but now that he was back, he was beginning to change his mind. He had forgotten how beautiful she was and wasn't sure he'd be able to let her go. But he also knew how much Connor loved her. It would be mean for him to take her from him, wouldn't it? Stephen sighed before deciding it was Abby's choice.

He watched as Abby leapt into the ambulance after Connor and watched as the ambulance drove off into the distance. He stood in the middle of the forest for a while before climbing into the car and driving off after the ambulance.

**()**

Not far into the journey in the ambulance, Connor once again regained consciousness. He could guess that Abby was in the ambulance with him but he decided not to open his eyes and speak to her. He needed some time to speak.

Connor knew Abby loved Stephen but he also hoped there was a thin chance she also loved him. It was unfair that Stephen had to come back when he had finally found the courage to tell Abby his feelings. Before Stephen had 'died' Connor was thinking about stepping back and letting him have Abby but know he was back Connor didn't feel like he wanted to give Abby up. In the end, Connor decided it was Abby's choice and he needed to let her know this. He opened his eyes and Abby leant forwards. "Connor, you're awake," Abby gasped and a grin spread across her face.

"Abby, I need to tell you something," Connor explained.

"Go on then," Abby nodded.

"I know you love Stephen but I believe there's a part of you that loves me. I may be wrong though. I love you myself. But I want you to know, even if you chose Stephen over me: you'll still be my best friend," Connor smiled weakly as the ambulance came to a halt at the hospital. "You can't get rid of me that easily." The paramedics pulled the stretcher Connor was on out of the ambulance. "I'll see you later."

**()**

Halfway to the hospital, Stephen decided he needed to tell Abby what he was thinking. He turned his hands free on and called Abby. "Stephen," Abby greeted.

"Hey Abby. How's Connor?" Stephen asked.

"I don't know. The doctors are with him now," Abby answered.

"Listen, Abby. There's something you need to know," Stephen said.

"What?" Abby asked.

"I know you love me but I know you also love Connor. I do love you but this isn't my choice. It's down to you Abby. If you go with Connor I won't hate you. I just needed you to know I don't mind what you do. But chose wisely as this is the rest of your life we're talking about," Stephen said.

"Ok," Abby replied quietly before hanging up. Stephen finally reached the hospital but he didn't get out of the car. Instead he stayed sitting inside… thinking.

**A short and uneventful chapter but I promise some action will be in the next chapter. You will find out how Stephen survived in the next chapter… hopefully.**


	5. Abby's decision

**In this chapter you will finally find out how Stephen survived! I'm sorry. I know I promised action but the chapter turned out different to how I had planned it.**

It was later that same day and Connor had finally made it out of the hospital on crutches though and for the first time in years, Stephen was entering the ARC's car park. He climbed out of the car and entered the lift. The ARC looked different to how Stephen remembered it and he was almost certain it had been redecorated. The lift was the same as ever though, taking ages to get from one floor to the next. Finally, Stephen reached the main room to be greeted by a familiar face. The big bad sarcastic boss who seemed to have a soft spot for Italian suits. "Stephen, it's nice to see you alive, though it would have given me less paperwork to do if you had returned the same day you were supposed to have died."

"Sorry Lester, you know what public transport is like nowadays," Stephen smirked.

"Stephen, I believe you may have forgotten sarcasm is my area," Lester said before continuing seriously. "Now how on earth did you manage to survive?"

"Well…" Stephen began.

"_We can only do that from in there now," Helen explained. "The controls are on the other side but whoever does it will be locked in." Stephen glanced back to look at the door. Why couldn't things ever go simply for once? The creatures were coming; they'd want some food. Stephen turned back to face Helen and Cutter. They all knew what had to be done._

"_Then one of us will have to go back in," Cutter was the one who decided to say what everyone was thinking. Stephen turned to look at Helen while Cutter glanced from Helen to Stephen. There was a long silence before one of the three actually spoke. "I'll do it."_

"_You'll never make it out," Stephen said while shaking his head._

"_Get out of here," Cutter ordered clearly not listening to anything Stephen was saying. As Cutter walked pass Stephen he stopped to whisper. "Just remember, Lester's not the enemy."_

"_Nick, please," Helen pleaded. Stephen shook his head. There was no way he was going to stand by and let Cutter die. He had to stop him and there was only one way he could do that. He span round, fists clenched before punching Cutter just before he reached the door. Cutter fell back onto the floor and was down long enough for Stephen to slip past and shut the door behind him._

"_Stephen," Cutter yelled before jumping to his feet. Stephen stood in front of the window so Cutter could see him_

"_Sorry mate, I'm doing this one," he said, giving Cutter a weak smile._

"_No, open the door," Cutter snapped while banging on the door, helplessly trying to get it to open. "Open it." But Stephen was stubborn and there was no way he was going to change his mind._

"_Can't do it Nick," Stephen said. "Can't take the risk." Stephen stepped back making his way slowly towards the centre of the room._

"_Stephen, open the door," Cutter tried again._

"_Tell Abby and Connor to stay out of trouble," Stephen once again smiled weakly. As he reached the centre of the room, the creatures started to circle round him. Future predators, raptors and other creatures he could easily list had completely surrounded and it wasn't until Cutter finally left that they started to get closer. Stephen shut his eyes tight but for some reason he opened them again to see a familiar flickering silver light: an anomaly. Without a second thought he ran through, disappearing from sight and getting trapped in the Cretaceous. _

**()**

It was the following day after Stephen had explained how he had survived to be in the ARC. Connor and Abby were in the menagerie. "Connor, I'm going to keep this short," Abby sighed as she watched the mammoth. She wouldn't be able to watch Connor's reaction to what she was about to say next. "I'd prefer it if me and you stayed friends." The next thing she heard was the menagerie door slamming shut. She looked up to see an empty room and no Connor. She ran after him. "Connor, wait." It wasn't hard to catch up considering it was hard to reach high speed on crutches.

"All Stephen has to do is turn up through an anomaly and you fall head over heels for him," Connor snapped. "Who was the one to comfort you when he had supposedly died? Who's the one who helps you care for Rex? Who's the one who constantly looking out for you? Me. But do I get any credit for it? No, instead I'm getting kicked out of the flat so you and Stephen can play happy families."

"Connor, I said nothing about you leaving the flat," Abby seemed quite close to tears.

"Well there's not enough room for you, Stephen and me, is there?" Connor muttered as he glanced away.

"What was all that the other day about us still being best friends no matter what happens?" Abby asked.

"That was to try and make you feel better. Make you feel like you could trust me forever. Looks like that plan worked well," Connor hopped away leaving Abby alone crying in the corridor. It wasn't long until Stephen came along. When he saw Abby he immediately ran over and pulled here into a hug.

"Hey, what's up?" Stephen asked.

"I-I told Connor my decision and now he hates me," Abby cried. "He yelled at me and went off. I still want him to be my friend." Stephen turned to look into Abby's blue eyes.

"Abby, I have no idea why Connor won't want to be friends with someone like you," Stephen whispered into Abby's ear. "Give him time to think about it. Maybe he'll feel better in the morning after some sleep."

"Thanks Stephen," Abby smiled weakly. "I love you."

"I love you too," Stephen said. He stood up and helped Abby up. "Now I better run. I'm meant to be helping Becker with something. See you later." Stephen turned to run off but Abby stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "What?"

"Kiss," Abby blinked. Stephen pecked Abby on the check before racing off.

**I know I promised action but I feel like it would be mean not to tell you how Stephen survived and what Abby's decision was. In my opinion Abby made the wrong decision but it's all part of the story! I promise there will definitely be a dinosaur and some action in the next chapter. I mean it this time!**


	6. Bickering

**I would like to start off saying I'm sorry if there are any mistakes later on. I didn't sleep well last night and I'm really tired. Also I'm sorry to any fans of Danny. You'll find out why later!**

For the rest of the week, Connor spent most of his time with Becker and Danny. He'd managed to convince Lester to let him stay with him but most of the time Connor was in Lester's apartment, Lester was snapping at him for some reason. If he was honest, Danny and Becker weren't that fun to be around, they were always talking about guns or war, both of which Connor wasn't really interested in. Whenever Connor actually spoke to Stephen or Abby was when they were face to face with a creature and they were ordering each other about but even that usually ended up with both of them arguing. It seemed like it was coming to the point where Lester, Danny and Becker were getting fed up of the constant fighting and bickering. It had been yesterday that Connor had surprised himself and the rest of the team. He had lost control of himself and punched Stephen and, when Stephen entered the ARC this morning he had a black eye. Connor couldn't help but smirk when he saw this but knew that any chance he had to become best friends with Abby again was getting smaller and smaller.

Suddenly the anomaly alert sounded, making Connor jump and spilling his coffee all over himself. He groaned before grabbing a cloth and mopping the mess up. Connor dumped the cloth on the chair before sprinting to the anomaly detector. The rest of the team were already there, huddled around the super computer waiting for Danny to find the correct co-ordinates. "It's at the children's soft play area at the end of this road," Danny concluded.

"Yes," Connor exclaimed which gave him some pretty weird looks. "What? I love ball pools! I've been waiting for one to open up in a soft play area for ages!"

"Just a kid inside," Stephen muttered.

"You've probably forgotten what it's like to be a kid," Connor shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stephen asked, stepping forwards but was pulled back by Abby.

"Please don't start this again," Becker sighed. "I've had enough of you guys fighting like kids all the time."

"He started it," Connor shrugged.

Five minutes later, the team were stood inside the building. Connor started to wonder towards the ball pool. "We're not here to play Connor," Danny snapped.

"Just checking for the anomaly," Connor lied.

"Over here," Stephen's call came from across the play area. Danny led the way towards him to find the store room and the anomaly.

"Abby and Becker go and check for an incursion," Danny ordered. Becker and Abby turned and ran out of the room with their guns raised. "Connor, hurry up and shut the anomaly."

"If you can remember how to use that thing," Stephen added as Connor was about to lock the anomaly. Connor looked up, anger blazing in his eyes.

"I made it Stephen. You could never have dreamt of making something as complex as this. I bet I'm capable at more things than you," Connor snapped.

"At least I didn't shot Abby," Stephen snapped back.

"That was an accident," Connor yelled. "Hey, at least I didn't sleep with Helen."

"That's all in the past now," Stephen growled.

"So is the incident with me shooting Abby," Connor said. "She forgave me. And you know what, if I hadn't had saved Abby the number of times I have then you wouldn't have your precious little girlfriend with you right now."

"Just lock the anomaly Connor," Danny ordered. Connor sighed before hitting the button but it was too late as just before the anomaly locked, a raptor jumped through. Connor hastily unlocked the anomaly again, so they could herd it back through but this raptor seemed annoyed and it looked hungry. Stephen held up his gun and fired but the raptor had already moved. It ran and towards Stephen who threw the gun at the raptor. The raptor attacked it, snapping it in half before turning and running towards Danny. Before Danny had the chance to aim his gun towards the raptor, it had been knocked out of his hands. Connor and Stephen watched helplessly as the raptor knocked Danny to the ground and attacked. It was at that moment that Abby and Becker ran back in which scared the raptor back through the anomaly. Danny lay motionlessly on the floor, bleeding like mad. At first no one dared to move and there was a long silence. Becker swallowed before crouching down beside Danny and checking for any sign of a pulse. A few seconds later, Becker stood up, shaking his head.

"He's gone," Becker confirmed, breaking the silence.

"Great job Temple," Stephen hissed before going to comfort Abby.

**()**

It was a few hours later and Stephen, Connor, Abby and Becker were stood in Lester's office. "Can anyone explain to me how this happened?"

"Danny told me to lock the anomaly but I got distracted and didn't manage to lock it in time," Connor told Lester half of the story. He had no idea why he was covering for Stephen. It just happened but Lester seemed to guess what the distraction was.

"Don't tell me you and Stephen were bickering again," Lester groaned before sitting down at his desk. Stephen just nodded. "Right Abby and Becker. If you don't mind, I'd like to speak to Connor and Stephen alone." Abby nodded before leaving the room, dragging Becker behind her. "If I was in my normal mood I'd sack both of you right now on the spot. But that would give me more paperwork than the amount I already have to deal with so you guys can keep your jobs. But can we please have so professionalism going. How much fighting over a girl? We've lost a good member of the team today and I actually hope both of you feel guilty about that but both of you need to stop bringing your personal lives into work with you. So from now on no more arguing, no more fighting and please nothing more that will give me any paperwork. Now if you don't mind I have paperwork to complete and a funeral to arrange." Stephen and Connor turned and left the room.

**Really sorry to anyone who love Danny as he's dead now and I won't be bringing him back into this fic. I wonder if Connor and Stephen are going to listen to Lester's advice…**


	7. The shock

**Not much action in this chapter. I'm sorry if the funeral scene isn't written very well. I'm lucky enough to have never had to go to a funeral in my life.**

Once Connor and Stephen had left Lester's office, the team had gathered in one of the ARC's rooms.

Connor was staring at the ground, tears in his eyes while Becker had backed against the wall and it looked like he too was close to crying. "He can't be dead," Abby wailed in Stephen's arms.

"It'll be fine," Stephen murmured.

"Fine," Abby repeated, pulling away from Stephen. "If you and Connor could stop bickering for once we wouldn't be in this situation. You both killed him." Abby turned and ran out of the room.

"Abby," Connor managed to speak before giving up and letting tears roll down his face.

**()**

It was the day everyone had been dreading, the day they would say goodbye to Danny for good. "This doesn't feel right," Becker admitted. Abby backed away from the church.

"I can't go through all this again," Abby said, holding back the tears.

"Again?" Stephen frowned.

"You, then Cutter and now Danny," Abby swallowed. "Everyone's dying."

Connor was staying quiet. This was the same church and graveyard that Cutter had been buried in. Cutter had always been like a father to him and in the short time that Connor had known Danny, Danny had become like a brother. It felt like the whole world was against him, taking everyone he cared for one by one. He was actually quite surprised Abby was still alive. But he had no clue why he had been arguing with Stephen instead of completing his job. Guilt surged through Connor. Danny's death was his fault.

Becker was secretly beating himself up inside. This was the second person who had died while he was on the team. The only reason he was on the team in the first place was to protect the team and stop deaths. How well was he doing with that? Two people on the team had died now and many members of the public had been murdered. In the short time Danny was on the team, they became good friends. He smiled weakly as he remembered the time he let Danny abseil down the ventilation shaft. Lester hadn't been very pleased. Guilt surged through Becker. Danny's death was his fault.

Abby couldn't believe what was happening. First Cutter and now Danny. And Danny's death was all her fault. Stephen and Connor had been arguing over her which stopped Connor from shutting the anomaly. If she had just stayed friends with both of them and not enter a relationship with one of them the anomaly would have been closed before the raptor had the chance to get through. Guilt surged through Abby. Danny's death was her fault.

Stephen watched as Abby cried. How stupid was he to argue with Connor in front of an anomaly? The whole point of the ARC team was to shut anomalies and stop deaths and he was worried about stupid personal life. It had been childish of him to argue with Connor. And he had started that argument. Guilt surged through Stephen. Danny's death was his fault.

It came to the time when Danny's body was lowered into the ground and each member of the team, even Becker let a tear out. None of them knew how long it would be until they got over this death and it felt like they had only just got over Cutter's. This showed them how dangerous their job was and how easy it was for a life to be lost.

**()**

It was a month later, after the funeral was done and dusted and thankfully Stephen and Connor weren't bickering as much however, Lester had got so fed up with Connor leaving the apartment so messy that he had kicked Connor out and know Connor has to stay with Becker. Instead of watching Doctor Who ever night, like he used to, Connor had to sit through shows about war or those police ones. To make matters worse, Connor and Abby still weren't on speaking terms and Stephen had been put in charge of the team until a new team leader was found. The team were still shaky as they still hadn't fully recovered from Danny's death.

It was a Sunday evening and the team had had the day off. The doorbell rang and Becker went to answer it. Becker entered the room again with Abby behind him. "I'm going to go to the shops. We're out of milk. In fact, Connor you can have the house to yourself today. I'm meeting up with an old friend." Becker grabbed his coat before hurrying out of the house.

"No Stephen then?" Connor asked, not bothering to look at Abby but staring out of the window instead.

"Connor, this is just childish," Abby sighed.

"Yeah because I'm always childish. I'm never mature am I?" Connor snapped.

"We're all being childish Connor. Me, you and Stephen," Abby interrupted Connor before he could go off on another one of his angry rants. "I just want us all to be friends Connor. I don't like hating you. Why don't you move back into the flat?"

"There's not enough room," Connor said. "Look, Abby, you made your choice over two months ago. You're supposed to be happy."

"Connor, I-I think I made the wrong decision," Abby sighed, staring at the floor. Hope surged through Connor and a smile appeared on his face. He looked up at Abby.

"Really?" Connor asked.

"Yeah, look at all the tension this has caused to the team. We lost a great member of the team because of it. I think the best decision I should have made is that we all stay the same. Friends," Abby explained. Connor's smile dropped and all hope suddenly disappeared.

"Oh," was all Connor could say. There was a short silence while both Connor and Abby were thinking about what to say next. "Do you want a drink?"

"Yeah, sure," Abby smiled. Connor entered the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards. "We have…" Connor pulled out a bottle of wine. "Some posh red wine." Connor smirked as he entered the living room with two wine glasses and the bottle of wine. "I'm sure Becker won't miss it." Connor poured the wine before handing one glass to Abby.

The pair spent the rest of the night watching TV and drinking wine. "I'm tired," Abby yawned.

"I'll show you to your room," Connor smirked.

**()**

Connor was sat in the ARC spinning round on one of the chairs when Becker stormed in. "Connor, what have you done with all the wine?" Connor shrunk back in his chair and Becker towered over him.

"Drank it," Connor chuckled nervously.

"There were like six bottles in there," Becker snapped.

"That explains the headache," Connor moaned. "By the way Becker, Stephen may not be happy this morning."

"Why? What have you done?" Becker asked slowly.

"I did nothing," Connor shrugged. "I think Abby dumped him."

"For you?" Becker snorted in disbelief.

"No, she doesn't want a relationship at the moment," Connor answered.

**()**

It was two months later, and Lester still hadn't found a replacement for Danny which meant Stephen was still team leader. Connor didn't mind this anymore before Abby, Stephen and Connor were getting on pretty well and Connor had been able to return to Abby flat. Connor, Abby, Becker and Stephen were stood in front of an anomaly. "Lock it Connor," Stephen ordered.

"Right away," Connor said as he hit the button on the keyboard. "All done." There was a sudden scream from behind them. Connor and Stephen glanced at each other in horror.

"Abby," they both gasped. They turned and sprinted towards where the screams were coming from. They rounded a corner to see a future predator on top of Abby. Stephen pulled out his pistol before shooting at the predator. The predator collapsed just as medics ran into the room.

"Get an ambulance here now," Connor yelled.

**()**

Connor and Stephen sat silently in the hospital's waiting room. None of them wanted to talk there were just hoping. Hoping Abby would be fine. The door opened and Stephen and Connor jumped to their feet as the nurse appeared. "You'll be pleased to know that both Abby and the baby are fine," the nurse said. Connor and Stephen glanced at each other.

"Baby?" They both said at the same time.

"I see neither of you had been told yet," the nurse said slowly. "Any way you can see Abby now."

"Thank you," Stephen smiled weakly. The nurse led Connor and Stephen to Abby. "Err… do you mind if we have some time alone?"

"Not at all," the nurse smiled before leaving the room. Stephen turned and rounded on Abby.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stephen snapped.

"Stephen, this isn't the time or place," Connor tried to stop Stephen.

"No, I deserved to know," Stephen snapped.

"Know what?" Abby frowned.

"The baby," Stephen answered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, because I don't know who the father is," Abby whimpered. Connor saw this coming and wasn't looking forward to Stephen's reaction.

"What?" Stephen asked turning to Connor.

"Hey it's not like she's your girlfriend anymore," Connor said.

"But she was," Stephen growled.

"It was the night before she dumped you, ok?" Connor snapped. "We got drunk."

"Please stop arguing," Abby pleaded. "It's all in the past now."

"I want a DNA test when it's born," Stephen demanded.

"You have to know everything, don't you?" Connor sighed.

**So I'm actually unsure whether it should be Stephen's child or Connor's. Help me out with that please! Oh and should I put Matt in now as the new team leader or someone else?**


End file.
